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Friday, 21 September 2012

Review: Haus of Gloi (Autumn)

It Started with a Bubbling Scrub....

Ah, i never expected to fall in love with Haus of Gloi like i have; it was a funny little company with strange products that i had heard of only from strangers on the Internet. I should have known better, it was the same when i first walked past a Lush store and found my nose to be thoroughly intrigued.

By this point i can tell this might become a full blown addiction, made only worse by their season released, looking at their Autumn stock it's already difficult not to picture their Yule stuff not far away, and where does it end after that? Spring! Summer! Valentines Day releases! Goodbye money.

Ghost Puffs (Pumpkin Butter) (Autumn) : Wow, what to say about this, besides the fact that it has a crazy level of Yum. HoG descirbes the product as "Buttery popcorn and marshmallow goo orbs, presented on a wooden stick." Which is pretty accurate; it's a very rich and creamy scent, the Marshmallow is probably the strongest part of this but it melts away to a buttery warmth which is incredibly yummy.

Since getting this my boyfriend has threatened to try putting it on his morning toast. It really does smell like that sort of food; kind of reminds me of Marshmallow sandwich spread. It's lovely overall, maybe a little heavy for some and very obviously a "dessert/food" scent. Smelling it reminds me of carnivals or bonfires.

If you have read "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern then you'll understand that that's what it smells like, like the Night Circus. Otherwise carnival and bonfire will have to suffice.

As for the pumpkin butter part; it's incredibly smooth and soft, thick almost like a body butter but not quite reaching that heaviness. It is quite light and absorbs quicker then any body butter I've ever tried, probably about a minute or so and no longer "oily/buttery" after about 5 which is pretty perfect for me, as i personally hate sitting there all buttered up not being able to touch anything.

Having said that it's absolutely not greasy or "oily" but it is very rich despite being so light. I would recommend using this maybe twice a week max as i think it might be a little too rich for everyday use. I've has a few tiny breakouts the one time i used this 4 days in a row, but no issues if i take break between the applications.

Pumpkin Queen (Sugar Exfoliant) (Autumn) : This one is described as "Gentle hay pillows, pumpkin, ripe peaches dusted with clove and nutmeg, dried summer herbs, and lastly, a lovely crown of amber."

I find this one very hard to describe, I'm tempted to just say that that description is right on and just move on, but i don't feel like it gives you the right feeling of what to expect. It sounds almost cluttered with scents and flavors which is why i had to try it, that and it being their signature Autumn scent.

I'm going to try describe this scent but i suspect i will fail utterly so bear with me here; it smells warm and very very softly of peach or maybe even apricots. Sort of like cinnamon but without the high burnt notes; I'm not familiar enough with the scent of pumpkin to say if it's that smell or not. It does however smell...comforting, like your grandma's kitchen on a Christmas morning.

Indeed despite being the signature Autumn scent this feels christmassy to me, but i guess to people it America it would smell more Thanksgiving. It's familiar but not i any way i can immediately place; just makes me think of home, family, lots of food, comfort and safety. It's quite odd, initially when i smelled this i wasn't sure if i liked it but it certainly has grown on me, not sure if i would wear it as a perfume, it's a little too foody for that, i don't mind desert or fruit smells in my perfume so maybe this is just a little too savory for me despite a definite hint of sweetness, confusing i know. This would probably make an awesome house smell though.

Sugar exfoliant is pretty good, my boyfirend likes it better then the bubbly scrubs and it does more on his tough skin then for me, i don't think its crazy abrasive but i think i personally prefer the softer bubbling scrubs. These however don't leave any residue behind, just take a little more effort to get going.

It is somewhat harder compared to the rest of these products and takes a little effort to get it out of the tub but it's still superior in that regard to other sugar scrubs I've trief that have been way to harsh on skin and have felt nothing short of painful.

Troika (Soft Bubbling Scrub) (Standard) : "A trinity of soft milks, almond, oat and coconut, lashed with sweet agave nectar and the ethereal scent of clean white." Had i read this correct i might not have purchased it, you see, i read this as a combination of milk, almonds, oats, and coconut not as almond milk, oat milk and coconut milk, silly me.

However, despite this lack of obvious allure, i do like this one and i even know how to describe the scent! (Coming after the Pumpkin Queen scent this makes my brain happy) It smells like Marzipan. It's sweet and almond-y, so that's clearly the strongest note in this. It is clean and comfortable, kind of like the comfortable you get from taking your clothes out of the drier. Clean and comfortable but with a slight cool, bordering on minty note. The almond isn't disturbingly strong either, its very muted and candy-ish.

It's in fact quite lovely, but a world away from the previous two scents and all in all i really do prefer a sweeter scent but if i could have this as a desert or fabric softer i would never use anything again as it has just the perfect mix of clean and flavored scent that i think would make all your clothes smell delicious. Having written that it almost makes me think of something powdery like fabric cleaner or oat meal although the product itself isn't powdery whatsoever so i guess that must be part of the scent combination.

Bubbling Scrubs are (previously reviewed here) the bomb, a great whole body exfoliator and so soft it doesn't hurt a wink but does a wonderful job.

I've even has a good deal of success using this on my face specifically around my nose area and have find it far more gentle then many face-specific exfoliators. No residue, lovely finish and no fuss, a winner.

Imp (Body Emulsion) (Standard) : I've been so enamored with Ghost Puff's ,I've sadly ignored this product a little bit, and it doesn't really deserve it as it's very nice and quite fruity without being overwhelming. "This little fellow longs to be your bath time companion! Peculiar passion fruit mingling with sun cured apricots, perfectly pink grapefruit juice and innocent whispers of wet mimosa blooms" The grapefruit high notes and the passion fruit are the most clear scents that i can read from this. It reminds me a little of a jam that's how strong the fruit scents are and looking at it I'm surprised not to see bits of grapefruit in the perfectly white creme.

Unlike Ghost Puffs this one isn't heavy at all, very light and fruity and the same goes for the composition. Compared to the Pumpkin butter it's very light, this would be the everyday moisturizer and if your not into putting something as heavy as a body butter on your skin. I haven't tried it on my face so i can't comment as to whether i could be used there but it certainly seems gentle enough and in a scent less dominant i would happily do so, Troika in fact would be quite nice as a face moisturizer. It seems to absorb well, pretty standard in terms of most similar products but does feel a bit more luxurious and i would happily repurchase. (maybe in ghost puffs!)

Carmel Apple (lip balm) (Autumn) : This scent is a bombshell "Sweet warm caramel and tart apple" is supposed to be the description and it hits hard. I can smell it even when the lid is closed. Incredibly rich scent and the apple is deep in there, it does indeed smell like a caramel apple but it's a bit dark and edgy. Not sure why, but, this doesn't bring up the warm carnival attitude i got from Ghost Puffs, this is more early autumn sunsets and fireplaces. The caramel isn't overly sweet but it is almost a slightly burnt caramel scent. I like it and i also don't, it's just incredibly in your face and i almost feel like it's too much , too heavy and too rich all at once, Not to mention the scent sticks around for a while so its not always a pleasure to deal with.

Spun Sugar (lip balm) (Autumn) : Ah, another scent i can describe easily. Not because it's not complex but because the answer came to me while i was trying to get to sleep last night. Spun sugar as the name should have made clear to my sleep deprived brain is, in more colloquial terms Candy Floss! (or Fairy Floss as it's often referred to here is Australia). It's soft and sweet and terribly delicate, nowhere near approaching the punch in the face headiness of Carmel Apple. I want o buy 10 more of this just to have it never run out.

Maybe this is why Carmel Apple seems to strong because this is quite delicate but still clearly scented. It's beautifully blended and without flavor so you can get a nice sugar hit without it going straight to your hips. mm mm the blend is lovely too, it's not too soft and not too hard, hard enough not to melt and get squished against your lips and soft enough to go on smoothly without catching. Can;t fault the formula, this one is just right, a perfect lip balm for Goldilocks in that regard.

Overall everything from the Autumn collection is slightly carnival-themed, an interesting choice that i initially didn't quite notice.

Here's a quick swatch to give you a better idea of the textures of each of these.

Note; As I've been writing this i've been hitting the refresh button on Haus of Gloi every few minutes hoping their Whipped Soaps will be up soon, should be out some time today and i am going to get me some!

2 comments:

I love Haus of Gloi! :) Bought their entire Autumn line in small sizes of the pumpkin butter, and I do like Pumpkin Queen, but it's a little too spicy for "morning" use :P Ghost Puffs is just super indulgent!